Study of lithium diffusion properties and electrochemical performance of SnSe/C and SnSe/MWCNT composite anode for Li-ion batteries

Abstract

Herein, synthesis and electrochemical analysis of SnSe based alternative alloy anode and its composites with Super P (SnSe/C) and MWCNT (SnSe/MWCNT) have been attempted via a facile high-energy ball milling method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the synthesized materials has been observed to confirm the phase formation. The morphological studies are analyzed using FESEM and TEM to see the shape, size and distribution of particles. In contrast, Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and Raman spectroscopy confirm the homogeneous mixing of SnSe with Super P and MWCNT. Electrochemical analysis of all three compositions has been carried to explore the specific capacity, efficiency and cyclic performance. The lithium-ion diffusion coefficient is estimated using CV at different scan rates, EIS, and GITT for the SnSe, SnSe/C, and SnSe/MWCNT samples. For all three prepared anodes, the Li+ diffusion coefficient is calculated using EIS, CV, and GITT and it was found to be in the range of 10−15 cm2s−1, 10−14 to 10−15 cm2s−1 and 10−12 to 10−14 cm2s−1, respectively. Among all three anode materials, SnSe/MWCNT showed higher values of Li-ion diffusion coefficient, indicating that the SnSe/MWCNT electrode has superior kinetics over SnSe/C and SnSe.